


The Promised Land

by sailorbowie



Category: DCU (Comics), The Sandman (Comics)
Genre: Drabble, Gen, Minor Character Death, One Shot, Shopping, Sibling Bonding, death does her thang, dream being emo, dream gets a makeover.....sorta, mention of delerium
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-28
Updated: 2018-08-28
Packaged: 2019-07-03 18:25:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15824451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sailorbowie/pseuds/sailorbowie
Summary: In which the ruler of the land of Nod gets a much needed makeover....sort of.





	The Promised Land

**Author's Note:**

> Biggest mcfrickin thanks to @SRjackson for helping with the beta! Please feel free to give their awesome work a look!

Dream wandered through the halls of his crystal palace, occasionally checking on his staff with a dreadful trudge in his steps. Lucien was sorting the books as usual, some were both fresh from creation and also gathering dust. Merv the pumpkin-headed caretaker seemed to be slacking off as usual, but Dream’s looming shadow promptly put him back to work.

During his wandering he found himself in the portrait room, facing the 6 framed symbols of his siblings.

 

_ “It has been a while, I suppose…”  _ His thoughts echoed around the walls, and almost randomly, the ankh of Death slowly began to form into her shape. Dream stepped back, almost taken aback by the surprise visit. Death’s spiky hair stood up as she stepped out, bewildered.

 

“Geez, it didn’t usually take  _ that _ long....” she complained, brushing her clothes off.

 

“It’s not how it used to be, my dear sister. Several decades of imprisonment….it has damaged my realm. I don’t know if I’ll ever recover from this as a whole.” he explained. His words trailed off to a much more grim place, and Death was not keen on that.

 

“Hey! Heeey! I know you’re not the real fun one out of us but that doesn’t mean you should just lurk around all depressed and miserable forever! C’mon, how many times have you done this?”

 

Dream sighed, looking down ashamed. “A few...weeks. Months, maybe.” he admitted.

 

Death rolled her eyes, groaning. It was obviously much longer than that.

 

“Alright, alright, Dream. Listen. Starting now, we’re going to change…’this’. Okay?” she motioned to his darker than dark robes that trailed around him.

 

He turned around, shifting uncomfortably. “I am grateful for your support, but I really do thin-”

 

Death grabbed his pale arm and lead him through a door portal. “WE’RE GOING SHOPPING RIGHT………... NOW!”

 

They ended up in a shiny new mall, busy with people. Death’s attire changed into something more punk, her symbol on a black tank and her dress forming into ripped jeans. Dream’s robes just resorted to a plain raven-colored trench coat that reached down to his knees. Together, they were a stark contrast to the bright lights and colors surrounding them.

 

“Now, this won’t exactly fix everything, but nothing says a fresh start like some new threads, eh?” Death suggested, elbowing him.

 

Dream scoffed. The stores around him displayed clothing that was beyond anything he’d ever consider wearing at all. “We’ll go into one store. Just one. And then we go.” he responded nonchalantly.

 

“Yaaay!”

 

She lead him to a storefront lined with surfboards, and inside there seemed to be summer-y attire. Death picked out some casual Hawaiian shirts for Dream to try on. They fit him fine, but the technicolored hibiscuses did nothing to disguise the overall appearance of a sad palm tree.

 

“What am I even supposed to make of this? The flowers are beautiful, but on me they seem to wilt.”

 

“Let’s try something else!” she offered.

 

The next place had much more of a warm and suave feeling. Trousers and dress shirts hung in various hues of burgundy, maroon, and forest tones. An employee wearing a long shawl came by to greet them.

 

“Hello, is there anything I can do to help you today? I must say, that is such a lovely necklace you’ve got there...”

 

Death gave her an extra friendly smile in return that Dream recognized from countless times.

 

“Aww, thanks. We’re just looking around, though.”

 

Dream looked at some turtleneck sweaters that seemed somewhat tempting until he tried them on. He scratched his neck and grimaced. Death helped him with some ties that had boring geometric patterns.

 

“It’s not my taste, really. I can see Delerium enjoying this a little more.” he mentioned.

 

She nodded, thinking of their sibling eternally lost in the wonderous confusion of life. They left that store too, the lady who offered to help waving to them as a few delivery men came inside to drop off some boxes. The two walked around silently, each store seeming more or less like the last, until Dream’s gleaming eyes caught on to something.

 

“Sister, look! It’s the promised land!”

 

That something was a neon sign that read ‘Hot Topic’, that lead into a dimly lit establishment blaring Green Day from within. Death paused in her tracks as Dream briskly made his way inside. She saw him stare at the various tees with previously unseen interest. The staff and customers paid them no mind whatsoever, as they blended in perfectly. It seemed almost a step back, but then Death looked upon her own ragged outfit, then shrugged. It wasn’t all doom and gloom in here at all. Dream was in awe at the merchandise of the shows and movies he had only seen in the minds of those who dreamt vividly of them.

 

“They seem to know me somehow….isn’t this the most incredible place?” he asked her, his tone softening.

 

Death chuckled a bit. “Yeah, just like the real thing…” she teased.

 

Dream carried two large bags on his way out with less of a drag in his steps, with his sister shaking her head behind him. As they passed the second store they visited, it was now filled with concerned patrons. The helpful lady stood outside, also worried, until she saw Death.

 

“Oh, it’s you again! Thank goodness you’re here, I was just helping with one of the boxes when my shawl caught on the hanger and when I pulled it, it also pulled on the shelf with the big metal display and, wait a minute… Is that still me in there? I...died?”

 

Death went over to the lady, who was shaking. “Yes, and, well, please come with me. Let’s just relax and go for a walk, shall we?”

 

Dream stood and watched as she lead her away into the distance calmly. A few moments later, Death returned to his side.

 

“Always in the oddest places…So, I guess we can call this a success maybe?” she said with a shy grin.

 

He looked off for a moment, then returned her grin with a very rare one of his own.

 

“A success of many more to come, dear sister.”

**Author's Note:**

> I just really wanted to see what would happen if the unproclaimed emos of the Endless visited Hot Topic.


End file.
